ABEC

Annular Bearing Engineers' Committee. This number defines the accuracy of bearings. Notice that the ABEC number does not say anything about the quality of the bearings! This means that ABEC 7 bearings could be worse than ABEC 3 bearings.

Air

Used to describe the height of a jump made by a skateboarder.

Backside

When approaching a grindrail with your back facing it, a skateboarder is doing the grind backside. When doing a 180 while seeing all the way behind him, a skateboarder is doing the 180 backside.

Bearing

The metal cylinders in your wheels. They make your wheels turn smooth. There are two bearings in each wheel, one on the inside and one on the outside. A lot of people think that the quality is indicated in ABEC, but the ABEC value is just a standard classification.

Bolts

The screws to attach the trucks to the deck.

Bushings

The rubber parts in your trucks. Soft bushings can absorb more impact, hard bushings give more pop.

Concave

A deck isn't flat. It has a nose, a tail, but also some elevation on the sides of the deck. This elevation is called concave.

Coping

Metal pipe attached to the top of a quarterpipe or halfpipe. Skaters can grind on that rail or do lip tricks on it.

Cushion

Rubber part of skateboard trucks, absorb the impact and make it possible to steer.

Deck

The main part of a skateboard, made of wood. A good deck contains a nose, a tail and concave on the sides. The length is indicated in inches, for example 7.5".

Downhill

Skateboarding down a hill at high speed.

Fakie

Riding backwards.

Flip

A trick in which a skateboarder jumps up with the board while flipping the board in the air.

Freestyle

A skateboard style in which the skateboarder has the freedom to invent tricks himself and make up combo's.

Frontside

When approaching a grindrail facing it, a skateboarder is doing the grind frontside. When doing a 180 while seeing all the way in front of him, a skateboarder is doing the 180 frontside.

Fullpipe

Big pipe-shaped skateboard ramp, made out of wood or cement.

Funbox

An artificial street skateboard platform with banked sides and a ledge or handrail to grind on.

Goofy

Skateboarding with your right foot forward and your left foot on the tail of your board.

Grab

Skateboard trick in which a skateboarder grabs his board with one or both hands.

Grind

A trick in which a skateboarder jumps up with the board onto a rail. While grinding, the trucks of the skateboard slide over the grindrail.

Grindrail

A metal rail put at a certain height, used to do grind or slide tricks on.

Grip tape

The rough part on top of your deck that gives you grip on your board.

Halfpipe

Half of a fullpipe, but with a flat piece at the bottom. Used in vert skateboard competitions. At both top sides of the ramp, a metal pipe or coping is attached.

Handrail

A steep grindrail next to a set of stairs.

Helmet

Safety equipment used to protect your head when skateboarding.

Hip

Two ramps put next to each other at a certain angle.

Kicker

A wooden plate with one side higher than the other. By riding over a kicker at high speed, skaters gain height for their tricks.

Kickturn

Turning 180 degrees in a ramp while pushing down the tail of your board.

Kingpin

The bolt that holds a skateboard truck together.

Kink

A change of angle in a grindrail.

Lip

Balancing on the top edge of a ramp in a certain position.

Manual

Riding on a skateboard while balancing on only one or two wheels.

Mongo

Pushing with your front foot instead of your back foot. Most skaters don't recommend pushing mongo, because it slows you down.

Nollie

While doing any skateboard trick, instead of popping the tail of the board, pop the nose; "nose allie."

Nose

The smallest of the two elevations of your skateboard deck. Used to pop the board up in nollie position.

Ollie

A way to jump with your skateboard still under your control, without hands. The ollie is the most fundamental of all skateboard tricks.

Pad

Safety equipment used to protect your knees or elbows.

Pop

Snapping on the tail of your skateboard to make it jump up.

Quarterpipe

Quarter of a fullpipe, used in street skateboarding. A metal piece is put at the bottom to make it smoother. At the top of a quarterpipe, a metal pipe or coping is attached.

Ramp

Construction made out of wood or cement, made to skate on.

Regular

Skateboarding with your left foot forward and your right foot on the tail of your board.

Revert

Doing a 180 powerslide right after finishing a trick.

Riser pads

These plastic or rubber pads protect your deck from the impact on your trucks when you land a trick. They also make the ride smoother. Some trucks have built-in riser pads.

Shoe goo

Rubber adhesive made to repair holes in shoes.

Skate tool

A skate tool is a combined tool to twist all the screws on your board.

Skatepark

A place filled with ramps, rails and curbs, made for people to skate in. The best is Zero Gravity Skatepark in Brevard, NC!

Slalom

Skateboarding through a series of cones at high speed.

Slappy

A ride-on grind on a low object, without an ollie.

Slide

A trick in which a skateboarder jumps up with the board onto a rail. While grinding, the board of the skateboard slides over the grindrail.

Snakerun

Downhill path with banked sides.

Spine

A spine can be made by putting two ramps next to eachother with facing back sides.

Street

Skateboard style in which skateboarders do tricks on street objects, such as curbs, kickers and grindrails.

Switch

Skateboarding with your feet the other way you would normally skate. What normally would be your front foot is now on the tail and your usual back foot is now your front foot.

Tail

The biggest of the two elevations of your skateboard deck. Used to pop the board up.

Tail skid plate

A plate you attach to your tail. This plate can protect the tail of your deck, but some plates also have a material that causes the plate to make sparks when you drag it over the floor.

Truck

The metal part that attaches your deck with your your wheels, through the bearings. Try to buy trucks with the same width as your deck. Hard trucks weigh more, but last longer.

Vert

Skateboard style in which skateboarders do tricks in a big halfpipe.

Wallride

Skateboarding on a vertical wall.

Wax

Used to make objects slippery, so they are easy to grind or slide on.

Wheel

The rubber round parts that allow you to move with your skateboard. Hard wheels provide less grip. The width is indicated in milimeter, for example 52mm. Inside the wheel, there are 2 bearings.

Wristguard

Safety equipment used to protect your wrists when skateboarding.

How2skate.com supplied many terms.